Despite the wave of technology industry job cuts from some of the largest and most financially stable global organizations, the fintech sector as a whole remains resilient, particularly in the UK, thanks to London’s status as a major hub. There is the highest concentration of financial and professional services firms in the capital, which is ranked second globally in the fintech ecosystem. Deloitte’s recent analysis indicates that the UK is home to over 2,500 fintech companies, with Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, and Birmingham positioned as “established clusters.”
Newcastle, Durham, Wales, Cambridge, Bristol, Reading, and Northern Ireland have been identified as “emerging clusters,” further strengthening the sector. How does this affect tech workers who are looking for new jobs or opportunities due to redundancy? The data compiled by ManpowerGroup shows that IT and tech firms in the UK plan to increase their headcount by 49%.
Fintech is evolving, with wealthtech and paytech firms now comprising over half of all UK fintechs. The B2B fintech sector is currently outperforming its B2C counterpart by a factor of four, according to Dealroom. Fintech companies selling to businesses have collectively generated £11.5 billion in revenue, while those selling to customers only brought in £2.6 billion, marking the lowest figure for B2Cs since 2015. Despite the UK having a higher-than-average consumer adoption rate for fintech products and services compared to other European countries, B2B fintech appears to be more resilient to external factors such as central bank rate hikes, rising inflation, and reduced consumer spending.
Companies that focus on developing the software that powers payment processes, rather than on the end customers, are positioning themselves in a more secure position for the long term. Therefore, for individuals seeking career longevity, B2B fintech offers greater security than B2C, which has seen some major players, such as Stripe and Klarna, lay off thousands of employees in 2022.
As financial crime and cyberattacks become increasingly common, the field of cybersecurity is growing rapidly, making it a promising area for tech professionals who want to ensure their careers remain relevant in the future. A recent survey by financial crime and fraud risk detection firm ComplyAdvantage found that 100% of UK financial compliance professionals are reassessing their approach to financial crime risk, and 62% of UK compliance teams are preparing for an increase in financial crime. Cybercrime, investment scams, and identity theft are among the top offences UK firms are screening for, indicating that technical experts who can provide support will be highly sought after.
If you are interested in exploring job opportunities in this field, there are several fintech companies that are currently hiring. Ripple is looking for individuals to join its London office to support its mission of enabling payments through blockchain technology. GoCardless, on the other hand, facilitates domestic and international payments directly between bank accounts and is seeking individuals who want to make open banking more accessible to customers. Finally, Starling Bank is building a new kind of bank that uses technology to help people manage their finances more effectively, and is hiring individuals for engineering and product management roles across its offices in London, Southampton, Cardiff, and Manchester.
